The impact of action strategies on entrepreneurial success of emerging

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.Research in the field of financial management of start-up SMEs in South Africa has suggested that many of these businesses could benefit from the implementation of rudimentary financial management practices such as improved access to finance and greater cash flow stability (GEM, 2003). Studies have indicated that high performing entrepreneurs have benefited from Complete Planning and Critical Point Planning Strategies as well as higher levels of Entrepreneurial Orientation (Krausse, 2005). Studies pertaining to the latter have focused on understanding or forecasting the entrepreneurial act in relation to success or failure and have been able to define more accurately, multiple dimensions of strategy. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of psychological factors such as strategy process characteristics and entrepreneurial orientation in explaining success in entrepreneurship research in a cross-sectional sample of 192 entrepreneurs in the Western Cape. This study examines mediating and moderating effects of entrepreneurial actions and strategies such as complete planning, critical point planning, reactive, and opportunistic strategies, as well as entrepreneurial orientation on the financial management practices-entrepreneurial success relationship. This study demonstrates the importance of the aforementioned personal strategies and how they could impact on the overall strategy-success relationships of start-up entrepreneurs

The relationship between planning strategies and entrepreneurial success for start-up entrepreneurs in the Western Cape

The total entrepreneurial activity rate in South Africa was 9.1% in 2011, compared with 8.9% in 2010, which is below the average for similar economies. This study examines the moderating impact of environmental difficulty on the relationship between planning strategies and entrepreneurial success. The authors carried out a cross-sectional interview- based study of 60 start-up entrepreneurs in the Western Cape in South Africa. The results show that environmental difficulty moderated the relationship of ‘opportunistic’ and ‘reactive’ strategies to entrepreneurial success. No moderation effects were found for environmental difficulty on the relationship between success and ‘complete planning’ and ‘critical point planning’ strategies.Department of HE and Training approved lis

SMME Performance—Results from a Longitudinal Study (2003-2012)

The small and medium enterprise sector is often purported to be a significant driving force within the modern economy. Over the last two decades various studies have concluded that creativity and innovation are influential factors that contributed significantly to job and wealth creation. The purpose of this study was firstly, to determine how SMMEs created jobs consistently over a ten year period. Secondly, the study aimed to determine customer, profit and sales growth as measures of business success. This study involved a longitudinal research design with a quantitative approach and a sample size of 117 participants. The pilot study started in 2003 with data obtained from 117 participants. 49% of these participants were still operational in 2012. 52% of these business owners prepared to provide data. The remainder of the 117 participants (represented by 51%) were untraceable and therefore, assumed to have failed. The performance parameters included the number of employees, customers, value of sales and profit. Our research clearly showed that when the economic situation is favourable, SMMEs create jobs and wealth, however, as soon as there is a downturn in the economy, both job and wealth creation is reduced

Evidence-based practices of promoting entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions in Africa

This research applies the changing of cognitive mechanisms of University students through Entrepreneurship Education (EE). The study hypothesises that entrepreneurial orientation (achievement orientation, personal control, innovation and self-esteem) improves after completing the entrepreneurship module. The context of this research involves undergraduate commerce students from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa. The study involves quantitative research using questionnaires through a longitudinal approach. The research design consists of a pre-test, post-test and post-test after the intervention. The impact of the training intervention was assessed over a 12 month period based on a randomised control design. This study indicates that entrepreneurial orientation was influenced through this Entrepreneurship module. The practical implications of this study emphasises the importance of training approaches that are based on empirical research. The uniqueness of this paper lies in the pedagogy used that allows the effectiveness of assessing a training program.IBS